"I saw the kid waving at me, and the mother asked if I could help with his tie," Officer Jonathan Maldonado told the TV station.

Maldonado said the mother, who was rushing her 14-year-old son to orientation at Bishop Mora Salesian High School, "was almost embarrassed and said she had been looking at YouTube videos to learn how to tie a tie."

Maldonado and his partner, Officer Alberto Ledesma, pulled over and helped the kid out. Maldonado called the exchange a "blessing," saying "we're here to help the community we serve ... sometimes people are just scared to ask."

Fellow officers were quick to applaud their colleagues for the act of goodwill: